united under two skies Redux
by Gearman
Summary: This is my second shot at this story. This is the story of Rex, formerly know as Courier Six, a man who now leads the Mojave as a nation. He has settled into life as the leader and accepts how boring the wasteland has become, but all of this changes when due to a strange artifact Commander Shepard appears in the fallout-verse with the crew of the Normandy in tow.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my second shot at this story; no more leather power armor, Gary Stu moments, or horrible crimes against lore. I don't own any characters or names except for my OC. Enjoy**

Rex sat alone in his office at the top of the Lucky 38 looking out over the grey expanse of the Mojave as the sun slowly rose over the mountains. Quietly and with purpose he gently disassembled his 10mm pistol; the process was slow and measured, so as not to damage any of the pieces. It had been his daily ritual for the last two years to clean his pistol before the sun rose; no matter how much sleep he missed out on. Truth be told, cleaning the gun acted as a sort of therapy both physical and mental for him. Now that he had a small country to run, Rex had no time for the gun fights and quests that had filled his life before the second battle of Hoover Dam. Cleaning the gun kept at least a small part of his old life alive in the boring and somewhat mundane duties of a leader; the daily chore also acted as perfect physical therapy for Rex as well. It allowed Rex to practice finer movements with his mechanical left arm; He had lost the original in the second battle of the Hoover Dam. His companions made it through the battle with little more than a few scratches and scars, but Rex was not so lucky. He remembered that day perfectly, the smell of gun powder in the air, the sounds of bullets whizzing past his head, and the warm feeling in his gut as he fired round after round into the legion troops fighting futilely against his companions and securitrons.

He always bragged at being the best shot in the Mojave, and that day he was in rare form; brandishing his custom twin 10mm pistols he fired shot after shot from their extended mags hitting his targets with accuracy and precision. In the excitement he went ahead on his own into the Legate's camp. Making his way through the camp, an improvised fortification of metal walls and tents, he came across Legate Lanius atop the hill overlooking the battle. The Legate was the commander of the legion's forces second only to Caesar himself; Rex hoped he could talk the man into retreating, but with one misspoken word he set the warrior into a fury. Rex always preferred to use his twin modded 10mm pistols against his foes and as such was never much for close combat; the bumper sword sliced through his shoulder in a clean cut taking the arm clean off. Flailing back in agony Rex fell down the hill as the Legate followed. When his fall stopped Rex was already going into shock and barely felt the man's boot on his chest. The Armored man said something to Rex, but it fell on death ears as Rex began losing conciseness, but just before he lost what little life he still had the Legate's head exploded into a bloody cloud. Arcade appeared at Rex's side and injected six stimpacks before tying his belt around the stump slowing the bleeding, and as the medicine went to work and Rex slipped into unconsciousness.

When he woke the battle had been won and the Mojave stood with Rex and his companions in charge of the new nation and had biggest robotic army on earth at their disposal; not to mention the resources of Zion, the Sierra Madre, and the Big Empty. He had built the mechanical arm sometime afterward with the help of Christine and Veronica (the pair happily reunited after the Courier's trip to the Sierra Madre) and had been dutifully upgrading and tweaking it over the years to meet his purposes; Whether it be paperwork or tinkering in his workshop the arm was a suitable replacement. He seldom fired a gun anymore though, besides the occasional trip to the firing range under the Lucky 38 Rex always had either his companions or Securitrons with him, so the need for him to carry a weapon was minimal. After all Rex had handled most of the Mojave's greatest threats in his adventures before losing his arm; now all that's left over are remnants of old gangs , and the occasional night stalker attack; nothing that couldn't be dealt with a few disposable securitrons.

In the early days of the united Mojave, the Securitrons were treated as valuable and irreplaceable resources, but after finding design schematics in Mr. House's databanks and learning to use the Sierra Madre's vending machines to create any raw material coupled with the production equipment in Big Mt. Securitrons became cheap and replaceable. With an abundant amount of resources Rex Set out to build a new country from atop the scorched ground of the Mojave and had been very successful. He sent teams to the Sierra Madre to bring back any and all of the advanced technology stored there, and after months of work had retrieved a majority of the tech from the old hotel.

As soon as the tech was brought back Rex and the think tank went to work creating new coding for the Vending machines allowing for the production of a multitude of new items like steel girders, different chemicals and medicines, raw materials needed for construction and industry, and even more volatile substances like fuel for vertibirds. These resources coupled with the knowledge found at Big Mt. (although it took Rex and his techs weeks to actually find the actual archives thanks to it being buried under centuries of the Think Tank's ramblings) allowed for an unprecedented change in the Mojave. With plans for a G.E.C.K found in the ancient archives of Vault 22, Rex and the newly recruited Big Mt. staff built and used the matter manipulation device to purify the water supply and turned the sharecropper fields into lush fertile fields of fruits and vegetables.

Rex looked out his window to the rectangular fields of fruits and vegetables spread out across what formerly was rubble and ruin. Securitrons flitted through the roads between these fields as trucks carried workers to their respective fields for the day's work, another achievement, many of the most sturdy old trucks from before the war were now operational thanks to their parts being replaced and their micro fusion cells repaired.

Rex sat back and lit a cigarette; he watched the sun rise higher casting light across New Vegas and its surroundings. Lost in thought, he didn't hear Veronica entered carrying the collected reports throughout the Mojave; ED-E was hovering just behind her carrying a tray with two steaming mugs. Realizing she hadn't been noticed Veronica looked at her friend as she usually did in the moments he drifted off. His red hair was slicked back showing of his rather bony face and grey eyes; he was tall but slim with little bulk on his body.

He hadn't changed much from when they met at the 188 trading post; the first time she saw Rex she almost laughed out loud because of his get up. He wore goggles, a long reinforced leather duster strewn with belts and packs containing different odds and ends, worn jeans, a beaten up pair of black boots, and a large green pack slung across his back. He looked out of place, like he belonged in a workshop somewhere not walking the Mojave, but that opinion of him soon changed after he recruited her on his journey. That was two years ago and after all they had been through Veronica was glad she decided to follow him.

Veronica cleared her throat and Rex turned to her snapping out of his daze before saying:

"Oh good morning Veronica"

"Good morning Rex, ready for this month's reports" Veronica asked placing a steaming mug in front of Rex.

"As ready as I'll ever be" Rex said taking a sip of the hot liquid "Broc Flower Tea again?"

Ignoring the drink comment Veronica began:

"Let's start with the New Vegas report, Revenues from the casinos are up 5% this quarter, crime is down in Freeside, the Thorn is reporting less attendance than usual even for the off season, the farm is reporting an increase in production of about 6% over last year's harvest, but some of the farmers are worried about the North Vegas residents stealing some of their crops"

Rex mulled this information over for a few moments before gesturing for her to go on. The rest of the report went quick as not much happened in the Mojave anymore that Rex wasn't personally involved in. When the meeting was done Rex placed his gun back in its holster and stood up.

"Veronica let's go for a walk; it's been too long since I've toured the dam" Rex said stretching "got to check up on Raul"

Rex slips past veronica and exits the room with his usual smoke trail trailing behind him. Veronica nods as she and ED-E follow rex out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Rex exited the Lucky 38 into the unforgiving Mojave sun wearing his reinforced leather duster, a plain white shirt, slightly loose jeans, and his black combat boots. He lit another cigarette as he waited for Veronica and ED-E to arrive, and as he waited he took in the Strip Proper. What once was a trisected district of gambling and prostitution was now a bustling center of commerce for the Mojave.

Shortly after the second battle of Hoover Dam Rex converted Gomorrah into a kind of town hall by renovating several floors of the old hotel into office space and meeting rooms, and now any citizen of the Mojave, or anyone seeking citizenship, went there for any dispute or business deemed too small to go directly to Rex. He watched as several people came out of the building carrying new Pip-boys on their left wrists and green citizenship papers in their hands as they made their way to the trucks heading for the Mojave community they had applied for. The path to becoming a Mojave citizen was a bit strenuous considering the applicant had to be accepted by the community in which they wanted to live before even being considered. Most new citizens worked for the farmers or ranchers in the area or one of the many factories being reopened across the Mojave until they could afford to move out of community housing into homes of their own. Many of the more down trodden complained that certain people gained citizenship faster than others; which was partly true, anyone with special skills or a trade were almost immediately granted citizenship.

Citizenship meant two things in the Mojave; number one, as a citizen, a person would be protected and relatively safe so long as they did not break any laws and two every citizen was required to serve the Mojave in some form or another whether it be through taxes or military service. That had been an uphill battle from the start. The very independent and hard headed people of the Mojave objected to the taxes, at first. Soon after the roads were repaired and people started to actually benefit from the work Rex and his construction bots, did people relent, and even then only after Rex agreed to a tax policy that while being strict allowed the people of the wastes ample freedoms when it came to their income. The government building also housed the Mojave's Trader's Authority, the organization that distributed trading permits for the Strip and Freeside as well as oversaw the trade between the Mojave's neighbors like the NCR. Something Rex always found humorous. It had only been a year since the NCR officially declared a peace treaty after months of threats, so long as the Mojave supplied the NCR with materials and goods they couldn't produce themselves. The Ultra Luxe and the Top's remained casinos but both were now owned and operated directly by the Mojave government with all profits going to the small nation's coffers.

Rex threw his depleted cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out before taking another from his pocket and lighting it. He looked around at the hulking Securitrons standing guard at either side of the Lucky 38's entrance; their cartoonish soldier faces flickered between annoyance and fury every few seconds on a repeating loop. The Securitrons truly were a marvel; armored like a tank with pulse shielding on all of their circuits coupled with a variety of weapons and gadgets made the machines one of the deadliest weapons in the Mojave's arsenal. Whatever House had paid for them before the war was worth it. The mechs saluted when they noticed his gaze before returning to their silent vigil and Rex smiled slightly before returning to his usual aloof expression.

Rex took a puff of his cigarette and was about to go back into the Lucky 38 to look for Veronica when he felt the ground beneath his feet vibrate slightly before becoming still. Rex drew his gun and turned around yelling "Attention". The Securitrons in the area came to life summoning their brothers from around the square to the. The ground vibrated again with greater intensity and duration before once again going still.

Veronica exited the Lucky 38 with ED-E hovering close behind, she wore light leather armor and a saturnite fist whirred slightly on her arm. She shielded her face for a moment before looking to Rex; his normally distant expression was replaced with an expression of intense concentration. His greys eyes focused and intense scanned the ground beneath them before falling on a small crack in the middle of the street. The ground shook again and the pavement around the crack exploded into a maelstrom of rubble and debris. The explosion threw several bystanders flying into bushes and walls. Rex twisted around and shielded Veronica from the blast and the securitrons flew forward taking the brunt of the blast. From the rising cloud of dust bullets flew out towards Rex and Veronica who barely had the time to take shelter behind on of the fallen Securitrons. As the dust cleared six forms rose from the newly created hole swathed in red body armor and feathers; The Legion. Rex peeked from the small amount of cover before three of the soldiers started firing assault rifles at their position while their comrades began firing into the crowd.

"Shit, where did these guys come from?" Veronica yelled over the sound of gun fire.

"The sewers beneath the street probably" Rex replied popping open an access hatch on the fallen Securitron "I thought House had 'em sealed years ago".

"What did I say about double checking these types of things?" She replied huddling closer against the fire.

"Hey I did check them two years ago, now quiet down and wait" Rex said as he drew out one of the Securitron's missiles and armed it.

"Wait for what?" She yelled back.

The answer came about three seconds later when the assassin's guns ran out of ammo and the fire from the three assailants stopped. In the two seconds it took to switch mags, Rex stood up and threw the armed missile towards the trio before aiming his pistol and yelling "Welcome to New Vegas". The missile exploded sending the trio flying in all directions and staggering their comrades. Rex steadied himself and focused on the three attackers. His breathing slowed and time seemed to do the same, and Rex fired three shots in a swift motion hitting each of the would-be assassins piercing their armor with each shot. He hit one in the heart, another in the head, and one in the spine.

"Oh baby I've still got it" Rex yelled triumphantly.

When the last one fell he ran forward and flipped the screaming soldier over before ripping of the man's helmet and placing the butt of his gun on the his temple.

"Who sent you?" He yelled smelling the hot metal burning the man's skin.

The man writhing in pain looked up at Rex and spat out "The legion remembers you Courier 6, remember that". The man smashed his head back and Rex could hear an audible crunch before white foam spewed out of the legionarie's mouth. Rex let the corpse fall to the ground and stood up to look at the destruction before him; the explosion had been contained to the center of the street, but had wounded several people waiting outside the government building. Soldiers and more securitrons had already begun to arrive and were loading the wounded into trucks heading to the Mojave's Central Hospital to the north of New Vegas. Veronica was directing traffic as ED-E flew about Blaring the emergency alert:

"PLEASE STAY CALM AND FOLLOW ALL DIRECIONS FROM THE AUTHORITIES, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION"

Rex joined the fray performing first aid on several of the less severely wounded and giving orders to the arriving soldiers. After about an hour most of the civilians had been evacuated and the debris brushed to the side.

Rex sent a unit of soldiers into the hole shortly after the attack was over and they were only just now returning. One of them approached Rex and saluted sloppily before handing Rex a crank drill.

"Sir, we found this and several other tools in the sewers where the sewers run alongside the tunnels under the strip; they must have been quietly tunneling for days to get through the concrete" The soldier explained.

"Good work, I want increased patrols in those old tunnels and make sure the Thorn's collection is secured" Rex ordered before turning around and heading back into the Lucky 38 with Veronica and ED-E following close behind. They rode the elevator to the command center in silence. The command center used to be the lucky 38's cocktail lounge, but Rex had it outfitted with radio equipment and linked it to the Lucky 38's computer mainframe and network allowing him to get reports from across the Mojave as well as keep in contact with his forces across the wastes. When the elevator doors opened Rex went to his station and began barking orders at the technicians manning the many terminals.

"Alright everyone I want reports from every outpost and community in five minutes and a report from the dam in one; I want to know if this an assassination attempt or the beginnings of an invasion" Rex yelled before lighting a new cigarette "I want Boon on the radio ASAP and put Camp McCarran on alert now, and someone get a hold of Cass and Lilly"

The collected personnel jumped into action; Veronica went to work as well directing the general chaos of the room. Rex stood there waiting for the different comm lines to open, when Boone's frequency appeared he picked up the transceiver and spoke;

"Boone I need an immediate status report of the Eastern border"

"All's quit here Rex; we haven't seen anything but travelers in months" The soldier replied glumly "What the hell is going on?"

Boone and Rex (the cyber dog) led the eastern border patrol.

"The strip was attacked by a Legion team nothing too serious just a six man team" Rex explained exhaling grey smoke "I'm sending another dozen Securitrons out to you "Just to be safe"

"Roger"

Rex disconnected before switching to the other line

"Raul status of the dam now"

"She's working fine boss, what the fuck is going on out there?" Raul questioned

"There was an attack; we're just making sure everything is secure" Rex explained "make sure everything is secure and functioning"

"Can do boss; I want nothing more than to serve your will" The ghoul said with a little more than a hint of sarcasm

Rex picked up the third line and said:

"Cass are you there I need a status report now"

"Oh hi dearie this is Grandma, Lil' Cassy is away right now"

"Oh Lilly, have there been any attacks at the Outpost?" Rex asked as sweetly as he could. Lilly and Cass led the forces at the old Mojave outpost; an odd pair to be certain but they got things done.

"Oh everything's fine down here, but you could visit more often your grandma misses you"

"When all this is over I'll come down and we can have some tea" Rex said looking over the status reports from the other parts of the Mojave.

"Be sure to keep your Promises young man" Lilly said cutting the transmission. Soon the entire Mojave checked in; safe and sound.

Rex sighed audibly and rubbed his temples.

"What do you think is going to happen next?" Veronica asked exhausted.

"I don't know, this certainly isn't the first time the Legion tried to kill me" Rex said lighting another cigarette "and it probably won't be the last"

Veronica only nods remembering the several failed attempts at taking Rex's life. Rex took a long drag of his cigarette and stared out the window and beyond. He had always wanted to hunt the rest of the legion down and end it, but since most of the leadership died in the second battle for hoover dam it was never really a priority. The previous attempts at his life had been perpetrated by men and women who called themselves the Legion but represented one piece of a now broken empire with no real leadership or vision. This time was different though, Rex saw something in that man's eyes he hadn't seen in a legionary for a long time, Belief. The unthinking resolve to serve the legion and take your own life rather than be captured and that was scary. He hadn't seen that since the day he beat Caesar and the NCR. Whatever came next wouldn't be good for the Mojave, but Rex stood with his army and companions ready to face whatever threat jeopardized the safety of the Mojave. He was lost in this thought when suddenly a bright flash of silver fell from the sky and seemed to sail across the horizon towards the Lucky 38. Rex barely had time to wince before the falling object turned sharply just before hitting the tower and crashed just outside of New Vegas.

"What the hell is it now?" Rex asked reloading his gun.

"Maybe it's a crashed alien ship; like in those old comics" Veronica suggested.

"Oh come on Veronica Aliens, Really?" Rex said entering the elevator.


	3. Chapter 3

Commander Jane Shepard sidestepped slowly in a circle with her fists up in defensive position against the bald biotic in front of her. Jack circled as well but had a more relaxed stance and a wicked smile on her face that oozed with obvious delight. Shepard and Jack had made it a habit to spar in the cargo bay after ground missions, and the matches usual ended in a standoff. Even though neither woman was any bigger or stronger than the other, but the battle between Jack's savagery and Shepard's skill and calm demeanor made for a good match.

"Not so light on your feet today, huh girl scout?" Jack said as she threw a kick at Shepard's head.

Shepard blocked the hit and jabbed at jack's head before saying "You try fighting as platoon of mercs and not lose a little steam"

Jack ducked down and sent a blast of biotic energy into Shepard's abdomen sending her back a few feet. Jack went forward and lightly punched Shepard in the stomach sending her to the floor outside the impromptu ring. Shepard jumped back up her dark black hair now out of its ponytail flying in every direction, and cracked her knuckles before saying:

"That was cheap"

Jack only smirks before bracing for Shepard's inevitable counter attack when EDI's holographic form appears between the two.

"Commander, Mordin wishes to see you in his lab regarding the artifact you recovered on your last mission" EDI states before blinking out

"Looks like we'll have to continue this later" Shepard says throwing on her N7 hoodie and making her way to the elevator.

"Anytime girl scout" Jack called as the elevator doors closed.

When Shepard arrived at the lab she saw that Mordin was pacing around a bright green device muttering faintly. Shepard and her team recovered the device from a Blue Suns outpost after the mercenaries attacked an alliance dig site. The device was about the size and height of an end table with a strange almost organic flower like design with a trapezoidal crystal jutting out of its center.

When the salarian saw Shepard he smiled and said:

"Ah Shepard, been running tests on artifact findings…. troubling"

"What do you mean troubling?" Shepard asked examining the glowing device.

"Device emitting energy, didn't notice tell till now, but complications imminent" Mordin said tapping several buttons as a scanner flew around the device "took every precaution of course but underestimated artifacts power; must get crew off Normandy now"

"What's going on Mordin?" Shepard asked as Mordin activated several barriers around the device.

"Device causing quasi-dimensional cracks must leave now, Shepard" the salarian said looking distressed "Must leave before device activates"

Shepard began to question, but as her mouth opened the device began to hum. The pair looked to the device and Mordin yelled "Problematic". The Normandy's lights began to flicker and a slight vibration shook the hull; the device began to glow even brighter.

"We're spacing that thing now" Shepard yelled rushing the device, as she did a pulse of green energy erupted from the device throwing both her and Mordin into the wall. Through a haze Shepard saw the device rise as pulses of green energy erupted from its core before her gaze shifted to the small window and saw that the blackness of space had been replaced by swirls of green light before shifting to blue sky. Shepard regained her composure and lifted Mordin up from the ground and yelled:

"Lock that thing down now; I have to get to Joker" she exited the lab into the CIC where the crew were desperately trying to keep their footing; she moved swiftly to the cockpit where Joker was desperately trying to keep the Normandy stable.

"Joker status report"

"Not good commander; one minute we're flying through empty space and the next our mass effect core goes offline and suddenly I'm flying through atmosphere" Joker replied as a blasted and grey landscape unfolded beneath them and a massive building came into view, directly ahead "Hold on this is going to be close"

Joker turned the ship sharply to the right just missing the building but veered out of control skidding along the sandy ground before coming to a stop amongst a small cluster of ragged homes.

Shepard activated the comm system and addressed the crew:

"Status report"

Tali's voice replied "everyone's okay in engineering; what happened?"

"Working on it"

"This is the crew deck; no casualties to report, but several are injured" Thane commed in "siha what's going on?"

"I'll tell you when I find out myself" Shepard replied turning back to the CIC where Jacob and Mordin were helping with the wounded "Make sure things are okay on each level and gather the rest of the squad in the communications room"

"Got it" Tali replied her line going dead.

"Of course siha"

After the lines went dead Shepard turned back to Joker who was furiously inputting commands:

"Joker what can you tell me about the surroundings"

"Desert terrain with what looks like ruins of …. suburban homes, and a shit ton of ambient radiation; not enough to be really harmful but I wouldn't stand outside for long" Joker said as read out after read out appeared as well as snap shots of the surroundings appeared "If I didn't know any better I'd say those ruins looked like something out of one of those old vids about the fifties"

"Get me as much data on the surroundings as you can; I'll be in the communications room with the rest of the squad" Shepard said as she gestured for Mordin and Jacob to follow her to the communications room where her other squad mates waited.

When they arrived EDI appeared in the center of the table and said;

"Commander, Jeff and I have completed a sweep of the surroundings and have completed a scan of the Normandy's systems"

"What have you got for us EDI?"

"The scans show a large cluster of buildings to the north reminiscent of architecture from the American 1950's on earth, but appear to be in a state of minor disrepair; the amount of ambient nuclear radiation suggest at least a minor nuclear conflict sometime in the last two centuries and judging from the style of the buildings it appears we are near the earth city of Las Vegas"

"EDI I've been to Vegas, it's nothing but city for miles" Jacob said as he leaned against one of the walls.

"I am only relaying what the data suggests no matter how implausible it might seem" EDI explained before continuing "The Normandy's core systems are at reduced capacity but are operational excluding the mass effect core. The core seems to be in working order with no damage or malfunction detectable but will not produce a mass effect field"

"My biotics don't work either" Jack explained raising her fists trying to summon biotic energy to no avail "not getting shit"

"I seem to be in the same situation" Samara said with a frown.

Shepard looked to Miranda and Jacob who both replied "same with us"

"Have theory" Mordin said bringing up a holographic image of the device "Recovered Device capable of trans-universal travel will need time to test but strong evidence to support hypothesis; current universe's physics fundamentally different making mass effect fields an impossibility"

"Another universe that sounds like something out of a b movie" Kasumi uttered to herself.

"Never a dull moment on this ship, is there?" Za'eed said laughing.

"So we're in another universe with no mass effect core, biotics, or assistance from Cerberus or the alliance; the question now is how do we get home?" Shepard said digesting the new information in front of her.

"Working on solution; currently attempting connection to device through Normandy systems will have results soon" Mordin said smiling "if possible to travel possible to travel home"

"Get on that Mordin" Shepard ordered "In the meantime we need to get Intel on our surroundings; I'll take a team out and look around. Thane and Grunt suit up"

"OF course; the dry air will do my condition wonders" Thane says before giving Shepard's hand a squeeze and exits the room.

Grunt on the other hand just pounds his fists together and laughs before leaving the room. The others leave the room silently leaving the room empty except for Garrus and Shepard.

"Just when I think we can't get into any stranger situations something like this happens" Garrus says grinning

"Honestly at this point I wouldn't expect anything less" Shepard replies before exiting the room.

After putting her armor on she met Grunt and Thane at the airlock. Doctor Chakwas was there injecting something into each both of the aliens and when Shepard arrived the veteran doctor stabbed her neck with a needle.

"What was that for doctor?" Shepard yelled rubbing her neck.

"Anti-radiation medicine; it will hopefully keep you safe out there" Chakwas replied before she walked off to help a wounded man fix his brace.

Shepard turned to Thane and Grunt before saying;

"Look since mass effect fields are totally ineffective here our weapons and shields are completely useless so this is strictly recon and if anything gets hairy we get back to the Normandy ASAP"

"Of course siha" Thane replies

"Good now I can punch anything that gets in our way" Grunt says cracking his knuckles.

A moment later the airlock doors open to desert terrain and ruins. Shepard cautiously takes a step out into the sun light shielding her eyes as she looks around. They had landed under a massive highway a few miles off from a tightly clustered section of city surrounded by a massive wall made from what looked like old neon signs and scrap metal. AS she looked around she noticed a large dust cloud approaching; as it got closer Shepard could see what looked to be a truck in the center of a group of twelve blocky looking mechs on wheels. She placed a hand on her useless gun at her hip and waited as the group grew closer. When the group arrived a tall thin man stepped out of the truck.

He wore a long black duster fitted with plating and normal clothes beneath it and a pistol on his left hip. His slicked back red hair had a pair of clear goggles resting atop them and a cigarette hanged loosely from his lips sending trails of smoke upward as his grey eyes intently examined the scene. Soon a woman came to stand by the man's side wearing leather armor and a mechanized glove on her right hand and a spherical robot floated just behind them beeping softly. The man stared at Shepard for a long time before looking behind her to where Grunt and Thane stood bracing for action. After an eternity he spoke:

"Who the fuck are you?" he yells taking a long drag off of his cigarette before raising his fist in the air causing the robots to raise their arms obviously priming weapons "And I sincerely hope you have a good answer"


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not posting for a while life has been crazy.**

Shepard looked down at the man her hand resting on her useless pistol thinking for a moment before replying:

"The name's Shepard, my crew and I mean you no harm"

The man gestures to the mechs to lower their guns and reaches into his duster and withdraws what looked like bottle caps before handing them to the woman just behind him and turning back to cast his gaze on Shepard then to Thane and Grunt before returning his gaze to Shepard. He lights a cigarette before making the walk towards Shepard allowing his duster to part slightly revealing the large handgun at his hip. Shepard also noticed the shiny black meatal around his left hand when he reached them the man extended his hand and said:

"I'm Rex the owner of the tower you just dinged"

"Sorry about that we've been experiencing some technical troubles" Shepard says shaking the man's hand "we can compensate you for any damages we caused"

Rex looked around at the shimmering hulk of the downed Normandy as his expression changed from intense focus to bored apathy as if he no longer considered Shepard a threat. Shepard watched his expression change closely noting that he was still tensed. The aloof expression was an act she realized; he was still very much on guard.

"The only thing you've damaged was already in ruins beforehand; thankfully you managed to miss the residential section" Rex says finishing his sweep of the banged up and smoking ship "it seems your ship here has suffered some heavy damage; it just so happens I have some of the finest mechanics in the region"

"Thank you, but we should be fine" Shepard says as her Omni tool activates displaying a vid feed of engineering. Rex raised his eyebrows as the image suddenly appeared from Shepard's wrist.

"Commander, we have a problem" Tali said "The damage is far more serious than I thought; the Normandy's superstructure has degraded rapidly, we need to get everyone off the ship as soon as possible"

"Dammit" Shepard turns to see Rex picking through an exposed section of wiring on the Normandy's hull "Hey do you mind?"

Rex looks up and says "Sorry old scavenging instincts kicking in; I couldn't help overhearing your little predicament if you would like, I can help with lodging your crew and supply you with resources to repair your ship"

"That would be appreciated" Shepard says "but you don't strike me as a man who would just help us out of the kindness of his heart"

"There's always a price especially in New Vegas, but considering you're ship could literally collapse any moment we can hammer out a price later" Rex says as the first of the Normandy's crew began streaming out into the Mojave sun.

"Commander I will lock down all sections of the sip after the last of the crew have been evacuated" EDI's monotone voice explained over the com.

"Thanks EDI" Shepard turns to look as the rest of the squad and crew exit the Normandy carrying boxes of supplies.

"So tell me would your prefer a room facing east or west?" Rex asks lighting a cigarette.

/

Rex sat behind his desk in the Lucky 38 listening carefully to fast talking creature in front of him. He, Veronica, Shepard, Mordin, Tali, and Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels had spent the last hour discussing the situation at hand. Shepard at first was very cautious of revealing too much to Rex, but after Rex made it abundantly clear that he could supply the materials need to repair the Normandy she decided to tell him the basics of the situation.

"Device activation problematic caused tearing in quasi dimensional border between our world and this one" Mordin says as he paces across the room "Trans-dimensional travel stressed hull almost to breaking point"

"We'll need several tons of dozens of types of metal to repair the Normandy's hull and super structure; it would be easy to get these things in our universe, but it will be impossible here" Tali says looking over some read outs.

"actually don't write us of yet" Rex says standing up and walking over to the massive computer that once displayed Mr. houses' visage (now moved to the opposite wall) and pressing a few buttons. The computer screen came to life displaying a complicated set of code.

"Miss Vas Rayya do you happen to have the atomic structure of the alloys you need?" Rex asks as Tali opens up a display showing the atomic structure of the different elements. Rex's hands move swiftly across the keys rewriting code segment after code segment and then presses the enter key causing the code to blink out and be replaced by a diagram identical to Tali's. Rex inputs one more command and a small panel next to the massive computer screen rises upward revealing a small pad of electrodes. The electrodes begin to glow and in a flash of blue light a cube of silver materializes.

"Keelah, how did you do that?" Tali asks as she examines the matter materialization device.

"We possess hundreds of these devices back at Big MT., my research facility, thanks to pre-war technology we can produce the Alloys you need and manufacture them any way you need them" Rex explains looking rather pleased.

"Yes about that war, can you elaborate a little more on that?" Shepard asks as Mordin and Tali continue their examination of the device.

"Oh sure, it happened around two hundred and seventy six years ago in the year 2077; the Chinese and the United States fired Nuclear weapons at each other until the whole world burned" Rex explains.

"Wait then that makes the year 2283" Shepard says.

"Yeah isn't that the year in your universe" Rex replies.

"Problematic" Mordin says returning to his pacing "device not just a dimensional travel tool but a temporal tool as well"

"Just great first I'm stuck in another universe and now we throw time travel into the mix" Shepard says rubbing her temples "Okay, can you get us home Mordin?"

"Yes, probably, maybe will need time and proper lab" Mordin replies.

"I have a wonderful facility where you can study this device; after you agree to my terms" Rex says grabbing the cube from Tali "I want a complete blueprint of your ship and all of your equipment, samples of all your computers, and this Codex I've been hearing about"

"And if I refuse?" Shepard asks crossing her arms.

"Well rooms at the Tops aren't cheap and the Chairmen don't take kindly to those who don't pay their fees" Rex says holding out his hand. Rex and Shepard hold eye contact for several moments before she takes his hand and shakes it.

/

**Several Hours later**

At the end of the day rex made his way home. He lived in the former workshop of Michael Angelo, who soon after the battle for the hoover dam was killed by NCR soldiers as they attempted to fortify their section of the strip and hold it. They were forced out hours later and retreated with the rest of the NCR. Rex had moved in after turning part of the penthouse floor of Lucky 38 into his office and giving the rest of the space to Veronica and Christine. He had turned the space into a maze of parts and sketch books over the past two years and had built a small living area above it all where he kept his belongings and best prototypes.

Rex climbed the stairs and enter is living space, a large single room with a kitchenette in one corner, a shower in the other, an armor stand holding a heavily armored version of his current duster worn by an upgraded version of the MKII stealth armor, and a weapons rack containing his multitude of modded weaponry. The space in between was filled by his bed a few armchairs and stacks upon stacks of books, ammo cases, and assorted bits of machinery. Rex hung his duster and holster on the rack by the door and walked over to the kitchenette and took the top off of a pot of Brahmin stew that had been cooking all day. He ladled himself and bowl and went to sit on one of his mismatched chairs. Rex sat back and relaxed for the first time all day. First an assassination attempt and now aliens form another universe; he sometimes wondered why these things always happened to him. After wallowing in that thought for a few moments he pushed it out of his mind and began eating. After a while he relaxed and they came as they always did when his guard was down and he was tired.

They filled the room sitting on stacks of books or his bed; all the people Rex had killed over the years, the ones he cared to remember anyway. He recognized Caesar in the throng silently watching with Benny and the decrepit form of Mr. House at his side, but amongst the group one stood out; it was a young girl no older than fifteen with red hair, dead eyes, bare feet, a ragged sundress, and a bullet hole smoking in her forehead. Rex leaned forward and looked the girl in the eyes and for just a moment life returned to them and the apparition:

"Bye Bye Rexi"

And the apparitions dispursed without a word. Rex only bows his head and mutters:

"See you soon Rosy"

"Talking to ghosts again Courier six?"

Rex looks up to see Ulysses sitting in the chair opposite him.

"Hello Ulysses, I was wondering when you'd show up; would you like some stew?" Rex says getting up and pouring another bowl and refilling his own. He returns to his seat and hands the bowl to Ulysses before tossing him one of the many utensils lying around.

"Thank you, it would seem change is coming to the Mojave"

"So you heard about the crash, aliens form another universe I'm helping them in exchange for tech" Rex says as he eats "And before you go off on all the "Take care for we both know the consequences your decisions can make" I know what I'm doing"

"If you says so six" Ulysses replies coldly.

"So you got my message to come here and now I need to know what you know about the new legion" Rex says placing his bowl aside.

Ulysses finishes his stew before replying "There are rumblings from the east that someone has risen to reunite the shattered fragments of the bull's armies and take back the land the Midwest brotherhood of steel took in the confusion after Caesar's defeat"

"Any idea who it is?"

"A man calling himself Octavian has risen to the throne" Ulysses answers.

"You have got to be shitting me" Rex says chuckling "Is there any originality with these guys seriously, he takes the name of Caesar's adoptive son"

"I came only to inform you of this threat do not take it lightly courier six, because this Octavius remembers you and has his eyes set on the Mojave" Ulysses says standing up. Rex stands up as well and grabs the bowls and takes them to the sink.

"Ulysses, there may come a time when I need what's in the Divide, and the question becomes will you allow it?" Rex says turning around to see a gun barrel pointed at his face.

"The day you return to the divide is the day we finish what we started, especially if you intend to unleash the fury of the old world again" Ulysses knocks the hanging light casting shadow across the room and when the bulb swings back he's gone.

Rex lights a cigarette and leans against his stove turning the stew off. His mind is no longer still, and his personal ghost would not return again tonight. Rex looks over at his bed and feels the days trials all over again sending a wave of fatigue through him. He walks over to his bed and falls into its softness and is enveloped in sleep.


End file.
